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(No Model.)

G. D. KEAGH.

DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY EXHIBITING BUSINESS GARDS,&0. No. 891,160. vPatented Oct. 16,1888.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT FICE.

GEORGE D. REACH, OF DALLAS, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR TO \VILLIAM A. SHA\V, OFSAME PLACE.

DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY EXHIBITING BUSINESS-CARDS, &c.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391,160, dated October16, 1888.

Application filed March 15, 1888.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that .I, GEORGE D. KEACH a citizen of the United States,residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices forAutomatically Exhibit ing Business-Cards, &c.; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to devices for exhibiting business-cards,photographs, samples, &c., for advertising purposes or for pastime; andit has for its object to provide a simple inexpensive device which maybe placed. in the upper part of a desk such as are found in hotelreading-rooms and other placesof public resort, or in a frame and placedin show-windows, to automatically at intervals remove the back card orphotograph from a pack or nu mber of cards or photographs which havebeen placed in the device and drop itin front of the pack, so that itmay be seen through an open ing formed in the frame; and it consists ofthe parts and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figurel is a rearelevation of my device; Fig. 2, a vertical section onthe line X K, Fig. 1, showing the movable slide in position to raise acard; Fig. 3, a like view showing the slide raised and a card inposition to drop to the front; Fig. 4, a side view of a card.

Similar letters refer to similar parts th roughont the several views.

A represents a panel for a desk or other article of that nature, havingan opening, B, therein, which may or may not be covered by a pane ofglass, as desired. To the rear side of the panel an upright, G, issecured on each side of the opening, having an overlapping strip to forma retaining-guide, D, for the side bars, K, of the sliding frame. At apoint slightly above the upper end of the opening in the panel, and at asuitable distance from the rear side of the panel, a cross-bar, F,having a beveled upper edge, d, is secured in an inclined positionlongitudinally to the uprights Serial No. 267,265. (No model.)

C, and is cut away on its upper edge at about its center to form arecess, as at 6. At the lower end of the opening two angle-irons aresecured to form rests G, on which the cards, M, to be exhibited aresupported. On each side of the opening on the rear side of the panel Aone end ofa curved flat or wire spring, H, is secured, so as to pressthe cards back against the sliding frame. This frame consists of theside bars, K, connected at their upper and lower ends by cross-bars L,to the upper crossbar of which a flat bar, N, of some suitable springmetal, is secured at one end and extends downwardly and inwardly, and isbent to form a hook or catch, a; or the hook may be welded, riveted, orotherwisesecured thereto, as found most convenient. The object of thehook is to project slightly under the rearmost card, so that when theframe is moved upwardly said card will be carried with it until thebottom of the card is lifted above the beveled upper edge of bar F,when, upon the downward movement of the sliding frame, it will drop downin front of the pack, the springs H being of such light material as tobe easily forced toward the front and permit the passage of the card.The cards are each bound at their lower edge and partly along theirsides with tin, m, which gives them sufficient weight to overcome thestrength of the springs H.

\Vhen the sliding frame is raised by the means hereinafter described,thehook onspring N will come in contact with the side of bar F and forcethe spring backward until the hook reaches the cut-out or recess e insaid bar, when it moves forward, carrying the card with it, and on thedownward movement of the frame the hook is again pushed back, thusremoving the support from the card and permitting it to drop down.

The sliding frame may be actuated in any desired manner and by anymotor, and I show one means of moving the same in Fig. l, in which Rrepresents a short rod or link, connected at one end to the upper bar,L, of the sliding frame and at its other end to one end of a lever, S,the other end of which is suitably fulcrumed to any part of theframe-work of the device. At a suitable point in lever S one end of arod, T, is pivoted, its other end being connected to a crank, WV, on theend of a shaft, Y, which is actuated by any suitable spring or watermotor.

It will be understood that any number of these devices may be arrangedin one desk or frame and all operated by suitable connections from themotor.

Having thus described my invention, 'what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a device for automatically exhibitingbusiness-cards and the like, of a panel having an opening therein,uprights having the retaining-guides secured on each side of saidopening, the angle-irons secured beneath said opening, alongitudinally-inclined bar having a beveled upper edge provided with arecess extending across said panel, a sliding frame having a springsecured thereto, a hook on said spring, and means for giving said framea vibratory or reciprocating movement, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a device for automatically exhibitingbusiness-cards and the like, of a sliding frame, guides for said frame,a spring having a hook near its free end secured to said frame, aninclined cross-bar having a beveled upper edge and a recess formed insaid edge, the cards having metal-bound edges, supports .for said cards,springs to hold said cards against the sliding frame, and means forreciprocating said frame, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the sliding frame of a device for automaticallyexhibiting cards and the like, of the link R, connected at one end tosaid frame, the lever, S, fulcrumed at one end and connected to link Rat the other, the rod T, pivotally connected to said lever S, the crankW, connected to rod T, and means for revolving said crank, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEO. D. KEACH.

W'itnesses:

\V. H. FEATHER, R. T. YATES.

